Subaru Nakajima
| gender = gender::Female | species = is a::Cyborg (member of::Type Zero) | homeworld = | born = uncertain Officially: born::0060According to MGLN StrikerS episode 2 (ca. 8:22 in), Subaru was officially 11 years old in 0071. | relatives = Nakajima family (adopted) | affiliations = member of::Fourth Ground Forces Academy (as Trainee) Battalion 386 (pre-''StrikerS'') member of::Riot Force 6 (StrikerS) member of::Gulf Special Rescue Unit (post-''StrikerS'') member of::Special Duty Section 6 (Force) | rank = 2nd Ground Member (StrikerS) 1st Ground Member (post-''StrikerS'') Ground Sergeant (SSX) | occupation = Disaster Force Forward Top (pre-''StrikerS'') member of::Forward Stars Front Attacker (StrikerS) Disaster Prevention Officer (post-''StrikerS'') Disaster Prevention Officer Leader (SSX) | qualify = | partner = Teana Lanster (pre-''StrikerS'', StrikerS) | magic_system = magic system::Modern Belka magic system::Special (IS) | magic_color = magic color::Light blue | magic_rank = B (Ground) (StrikerS) mage rank::AA; Ground (post-''StrikerS'')[http://nanoha.julynet.jp/?%CB%E2%CB%A1%2FStrikerS#t86327bb Mage ranks in StrikerS] on the Japanese Nanoha wiki. | device = Revolver Knuckle (right hand) Self-made Rollerblades‎ (early StrikerS) Mach Caliber AX Sword Breaker (Force) | name_ja = スバル・ナカジマ | name_romaji = Subaru Nakajima | first = | voices = }} is a character in appears in::Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, voiced by . She's completely original to the series, not appearing in any of the previous series in the franchise. Subaru has a deep-rooted admiration of Nanoha Takamachi, aspiring to be just like her. Subaru even made her own version of Divine Buster. Name Subaru is named after the car company and , the World War II-era name of , the parent company of Subaru. Subaru means in Japanese. By the time of StrikerS Sound Stage X, Subaru also acquires the nickname of ,StrikerS Sound Stage X, disc 1, track 5, as she is in the "Silver Team", the nickname for the Gulf Special Rescue Unit who wear silver uniforms. In Force, Subaru is nicknamed by Thoma, whom she treat as younger brother, as Su-''chan''. Appearance Many aspects of her character, including her true origins, Mach Caliber's transformation, and typical attack routine, appear to be a heavy nod to the 1997 anime and its sequel OVA. She and her sister also resemble the pilots of . Although an original character, Subaru may have been based on Akira Jōshima from Triangle Heart 3. Both characters have the same color and style hair, use a normally manual-powered mode of transportation (Subaru uses inline skates while Akira uses a skateboard) and train in hand-to-hand combat. In StrikerS fire in 0071]] Four years before the events of the series, Subaru almost died in a fire at the Mid-Childan Coastal Airport 8 along with her older sister Ginga Nakajima. Confused and crying, just as a falling statue was about to crush her, she was saved by Nanoha, who then blew a hole in the roof with a Divine Buster to create an escape route. This became a life-changing experience for Subaru, who henceforth displayed a profound admiration for and the desire to be just like Nanoha.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS episodes 1 and 2. Following their encounter, Subaru decides, against her father's wishes, to join the Armed Forces and begins learning magic from Ginga, having previously never attended a magic school. She enrolls in the Fourth Ground Forces Academy a year after the incident and is paired with another trainee, Teana Lanster. Both of them eventually graduate at the top of their class and join the Ground Forces (disaster relief operations).Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS the Comics, chapter 7, page 21. Throughout their education and careers, the two of them are repeatedly paired together due to their complementary skills. At the very start of the series, Subaru and Teana participate in a joint examination to raise their mage ranks from C to B, having previously passed the D and C mage rank exams at their first attempt. Though she doesn't know it, she and Teana are being observed by Nanoha, Fate T. Harlaown and Hayate Yagami as potential students and members of a new division of the TSAB Ground Forces, Riot Force 6. Even though the two fail the exam, they are accepted into the new division. But they are given a special opportunity to retake the exam without having to wait. Subaru's excitement at being a member of the same squad as Nanoha and being taught directly by her idol may have had her jumping, but Subaru, having a completely different way of fighting from her commander, instead trains in close combat with her sub-commander, Vita. Subaru's style is unrefined, as she initially opted to use barriers in situations where shields are more appropriate.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 6. In episode 6 of StrikerS, Subaru's family is revealed to have originated from Earth, like Nanoha and Hayate. In their case, "Earth" is referred as the "Non-Management 97th World". Subaru's friendship with Teana, though the latter may claim that it is strained, is very close, to the point of devotion. During a time when Teana was angsting over a friendly fire incident during the Hotel Augusta engagement, Subaru made every effort to keep Teana's spirits up, helped her train and even criticised Nanoha's decisions to punish Teana for overdoing her efforts.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episodes 8 and 9. By episode 18, it is revealed that Subaru and Ginga are, in fact, not biological daughters of Genya Nakajima and his wife Quint (who was incapable of childbirth). The girls are actually cyborgs (as revealed in episode 17 when Subaru's left arm was damaged, revealing cybernetics), just like Jail Scaglietti's Numbers, acquired from a facility similar to that run by Scaglietti, then adopted by the Nakajimas because of their surprising resemblance to Quint.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episodes 17 and 18. Even more startling is a revelation during a flashback in episode 23, when, while Quint was still alive, Ginga and Subaru were undergoing examination, and it was discovered that the siblings had very uncannily similar genetic makeup to Quint, leading to speculation that they were possibly clones of Quint, which would explain their physical resemblances.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 23. After the conclusion of the series, Subaru assumes the field roles of at the elite Gulf Special Rescue Unit, and is last seen rescuing two children from a sinking ship.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 26. In Sound Stage X Subaru, now a with equivalent armed force rank of Ground Sergeant,StrikerS Sound Stage X, CD Booklet. appears in appears in::Sound Stage X to help Teana with her investigation of the Mariage Incident. She and Vivio Takamachi become friends with Ixpellia in the end. In ViVid Subaru makes a minor cameo appearance in the first chapter of appears in::Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, receiving a picture of Vivio and her friends. She enters the story proper in chapter 5, when Nove, having been beaten by Heidi E. S. Ingvalt, calls her for help and also to apprehend her attacker who didn't get far before collapsing. It is then revealed that Subaru now lives separately from Genya, in her own home, where she brings both Nove and Einhard Stratos. After confirming that Einhard is not planning to hurt Vivio or Ixpellia, she accompanies her and Nove to the police station but stays behind to chat with Teana. She is last seen seeing Einhard off to school, where she is supposed to meet Vivio. She is next seen in chapter 8, reporting off duty to Voltz Stan, before she leaves on a trip to Carnaaji with Nanoha, Teana, Vivio, and her friends. In chapter 10, she, Nanoha, Teana, Fate, Caro, and Erio participate in a spectacular mock battle on Carnaaji. In the team battle on the second training day, Subaru takes a Front Attacker position of the Blue Team alongside Vivio, opposing Nove and Einhard, respectively. She and Nove fight each other for most of the time, but the two briefly pause to watch Nanoha fight Einhard. Subaru warns Einhard that it is risky to oppose Nanoha, but Nove reminds her that she's on the other team. After Einhard is teleported away, Nove dashes off to deal with Lutecia and Vivio, but Vivio and Subaru face her in battle. Subaru then shields Vivio from Teana's Starlight Breaker, enabling Vivio to survive long enough to defeat Teana and fight one-on-one with Einhard, which ends in a draw. Subaru relaxes in the hot springs with Nove and Teana, and after hearing Nove talk about the path Einhard is seeking in life, notes that Nove is also seeking her own calling. In ViVid Strike! Subaru only appears briefly in a lunch gathering with her sisters, Teana, Einhard and Fuka Reventon in . In Force Subaru is first seen in the prologue chapter of Force, standing on the beach with Thoma Avenir, with their backs to the reader. Their association, however, is properly revealed in the end of chapter 5, when she is introduced to the main story (meeting Nanoha at a space port). Apparently, she and Thoma have spent a lot of time together when he was young, as Nanoha jokingly refers to him as Subaru's "little brother". When Rein informs Subaru that Thoma is among the culprits of the Eclipse crisis in chapter 6, all Subaru says is "I must confirm it myself". Chapter 7 details how Subaru and Thoma first met. Some time before their meeting, she was deployed to contain a major fire. However, despite saving many lives, the firefighters couldn't save many more, and Subaru took a leave to train alone on Vaizen and cope with the feeling of guilt. It was during this time that she spotted Thoma, who was wandering homeless after surviving the destruction of his hometown. Surprised by her openness and kindness, Thoma nevertheless recognized that her "smile with tears held back was just her acting tough". The two of them grew close to each other, and she requested that his hometown be investigated. She also searched for any relatives but in vain, so he was taken in by an orphanage. After he grew old enough, the Nakajima family offered to adopt him, but before he could agree, he decided to go on a journey to cope with his own past, which ended with him being accidentally infected by the Eclipse. In chapter 8, Subaru denies her adoptive brother as a felony criminal in a property break-and-enter crime scheme and goes to Touma out of grief to confirm whether her adoptive brother is a criminal. In Force, Subaru is a member of member of::Special Duty Section 6. She is deployed from the Wolfram to aid Fate's infiltrationg of the Esquad Hückebein, along with Erio. They are confronted by the Hückebein and Subaru ends up fighting Veyron. Although her Sword Breaker AEC Armament successfully stops Veyron's Divider, Veyron's other glove-like weapon deals serious damage to the Revolver Knuckle. The fight ends prematurely when Thoma inadvertently invokes a Zero Effect that knocks out nearly all living beings and machinery within a large radius, disabling both the Wolfram and the Hückebein vessel in the process. Being a cyborg, Subaru loses all her senses to the Zero Effect, preventing her from properly discerning her surroundings; worse, the effect leaves her bodily systems temporarily immobilized. She opts to prioritize the restoration of her visual sensors first. Thoma carries both Lily and Isis out to the site of battle but under the influence of the Divider, is unable to recognize Subaru. He asks "the TSAB official" to have Lily and Isis taken in by the TSAB for safety and in this moment, the two first recognize each other by voice. Alternate continuities Portable Subaru only makes a brief cameo appearance in a flashback of Thoma and Lily in . Brave Duel '|中島スバル|Nakajima Subaru}}, similar to her childhood flashback in the primary continuity (7 years old when saved by her mother), is the fourth daughter of Genya Nakajima and Quint Nakajima, studying 2nd grade (approx. 7 years old). She is also 's big fan, and is joining the Brave Duel along with her classmate . Powers Even though she uses Belkan magics, Subaru is considered a mage instead of a knight,Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS Official Website. probably because she does not use a weapon and hence maintains a Zauber Rank. Subaru's form of magic-use is the hand-to-hand "uses::Shooting Arts", which was taught to Subaru by her sister''MGLN StrikerS'', episode 11. and is focused on combating with rollerblades. On several occasions, Subaru has communicated with Teana telepathically.MGLN StrikerS, episode 2 (about 13:46). Barrier Jacket Subaru originally casts the standard battalion Barrier Jacket, as shown in the beginning of StrikerS. Like Teana, her Jacket after joining Riot Force 6 is enhanced and named mode::Stars Style, based on Nanoha's Aggressor Mode and offering heavier armor at the cost of higher mana consumption. Spells Combat Cyborg mode In addition to her magic ability, Subaru has a Combat Cyborg mode, in which she taps into her full cyborg strength and enables usage of her Inherent Skill ("IS"). Her eyes change to amber while in this mode, and her magic circle changes to the IS template. Subaru's IS is Inherent Skill::Oscillating Breaker, a cross-range energy attack similar to Revolver Shoot but several orders of magnitude more powerful, with exceptional effectiveness against electronic parts and physical frames of cyborgs. A cyborg will definitely be killed instantly should one take one hit undefended.Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 18. At the first time Subaru performs her IS, her Revolver Knuckle loads four cartridges, though she does not do so in the last episode of StrikerS. It appears that she can only perform Oscillating Breaker with a hand that is wearing a Revolver Knuckle, as she only does so with her right hand in the first use but performs a one-two use of the move in the last episode while wearing both Knuckles. Mach Caliber was not designed to work with Subaru's Combat Cyborg form, however, and breaks apart from the strain the first time Subaru uses it. As a result, Mach Caliber was upgraded in episode 19 to improve its performance to the point where it was able to handle Subaru's full power - a similar upgrade was performed by Jail Scaglietti to Ginga's Blitz Caliber at the same time. In the StrikerS manga, Shario Finieno refers to Wing Road as an "Inherent Magic" while putting the finishing touches on Mach Caliber, stating that programming Mach Caliber to be able to use Wing Road on its own is complicating the Device's completion. MGLN StrikerS THE COMICS Chapter 8, page 20. Subaru has on occasion punctured barriers by punching them with a spinning Revolver Knuckle, then opening her hand into the barrier, causing it to shatter (referred to as Barrier Break). She did this in episode 1 against the boss drone, as well as in Episode 23 to puncture Ginga's barrier. On both occasions this was done to leave the target open to a direct hit by Divine Buster. Gallery References Category:Characters